Andy Bickers, Saxophonist For Cold Chisel, Midnight Oil & More, Passes Away

Cold Chisel

Andy Bickers, a saxophonist who’s performed with some of Australia’s most loved bands, has passed away after facing cancer.

According to the ABC, Bickers performed with numerous bands in Wellington in the ‘80s before he relocated to Melbourne and then Sydney. It was when he was living in Sydney that he started touring with Cold Chisel and remained part of their touring outfit for over 30 years.

In addition to touring with Cold Chisel, Bickers toured with music icons such as the Eagles, Midnight Oil, Don Henley, ICEHOUSE, Silverchair, and Diesel, and shared the stage and recorded with You Am I, Hoodoo Gurus, Vika & Linda, The Presets, and Tony Hadley.

The Australian music industry has paid tribute to Bickers.

Cold Chisel led the tributes, announcing on Friday (10 July) that he passed away earlier that morning.

“Our much-loved sax player of more than 30 years, Andy Bickers, passed away this morning after a hard-fought battle with cancer,” the band wrote.

They continued, “Andy was our brother: an incredible musician and a great person to be out on the road or out on the town with. His valuable contribution onstage to songs like Rising Sun, Saturday Night and My Baby will be sorely missed. Our hearts break for his wife Lisa and his son Rudy.”

In a separate post, Cold Chisel frontman Jimmy Barnes added, “Our much-loved Cold Chisel sax player of more than 30 years, Andy Bickers, passed away this morning after a hard-fought battle with cancer.

“Andy also toured many times with me, playing soul and rock shows. We were friends not only because he was a great player but he was funny, intelligent, and most importantly, he was a good man.

“Lots of love to Lisa and Rudy. You will be sadly missed, Andy x”.

Midnight Oil shared, “Vale much loved sax player for the Oils and so many other artists - Andy Bickers - who left us today after a long illness.

“Our thoughts are with his wife Lisa and son Rudy. One of Andy’s final gigs was leading the brass section in the climax of this tribute to Rob Hirst at the 2026 APRA Awards where he played with his signature power and passion.”

Midnight Oil’s Jim Moginie added, “Today we farewell Andy Bickers. A stalwart player, person and vibe. He played with #midnightoilband from 2019 and also on the Makaratta Project and Resist, but also on many previous gigs where the pressure was on at the SCG and the MCG. Andy would deliver every time, someone you could depend on completely. May happy thoughts reach him.

“To Lisa and Rudy our thoughts and love are with you.”

In a message from ICEHOUSE frontman Iva Davies, he said of Bickers’ passing, “I am saddened and very sorry to hear the news about the loss of Andy Bickers.

“We saw and performed with him only a few weeks ago.

“Andy was a consummate musician as attested by the great array of people he performed and collaborated with along with the many he mentored and inspired.

“He will be truly missed by all of us within the ICEHOUSE team and by the Australian music community. Our thoughts are with his family.”

Richard Clapton wrote, “It is with heavy heart that I have to let you know that our beloved sax player Andy Bickers passed away yesterday. I have played The State Theatre 16 times and Andy was with us for virtually every one of those concerts, and made Wintertime in Amsterdam such a special moment in the shows history. The song is not going to be quite the same this year.”